by Chloe Carley
“You wanted a new life, Aline, and you can still have that, I promise you. But we’ve got to put a stop to this. Have you seen anything strange around the ranch lately? Has Harrison been acting suspiciously? I’ve got to catch him in the act of rustling, otherwise there’s no evidence for all this,” Thomas said.
Aline thought for a moment. There’d certainly been things happening at Lampeter Ranch of late, things which—now that she thought about it—seemed strange. Clarence and Hector had taken on more hands to help with the workload, or so they’d said. In the past few days, she’d seen all manner of men pass through the ranch, but they’d not done much work. Instead, they’d been in and out of the barns, taking orders from the two ranch hands and from Mr. Knox, who’d seemed busier than usual—a fact she’d put down to the business of running a large ranch rather than anything untoward.
“He’s hired more hands for the ranch,” she said, thinking hard, “and there’s more horses about the place.”
“What about cattle?” Thomas asked. “Are there any more on the ranch?”
Aline shook her head.
“I haven’t seen any, he only keeps a few head out in the paddocks,” she replied.
“They’re not ranch hands. There have been more rustlings in the past few weeks. Those men are being brought in to help with his outfit. There’ll be men from the old days, men who used to work with our father,” Thomas said, shaking his head.
“But what about the cattle?” Aline said. “Where are they taking them? I haven’t seen any extra cattle here, or on the trail to Lakestone.”
“He must be keeping them someplace else. The trail leads back to Westfort. That’s where he’s selling them. He’s driving them some place out of town and keeping them there. They must drive them along the trail at night and if anyone sees them… well…” Thomas said, looking worried.
Aline sipped her cocoa. It was all too horrible to comprehend. The threats, the intimidation, the violence. To think that she’d been oblivious to it all and taken in by Mr. Knox’s smile and empty promises. It made her feel sick.
“But where?” she asked, looking at Thomas, who shook his head.
“I don’t know, but it can’t be far away,” he said. “It’s got to be close enough to drive the cattle back to quickly but far enough from the town so as to not be easily discovered.”
“Lakestone Gorge,” Aline said suddenly. “Lakestone Gorge, it’s got to be!”
Thomas looked at her in surprise, as the thought of that isolated place had never occurred to him.
“What makes you so sure?” he asked.
“I remember my father talking about it. He wanted to build a ranch house out there. But it’s a lonely place, far off the trail. That’s why he settled for the prairie instead. He told me all about it, I hadn’t given it a second thought until now,” she replied.
Thomas nodded, before looking up at her and smiling.
“You know what, I think it might be worth a look. No one has cause to ride out there. You’re right, it’s a lonely place. The nearest ranch must be five miles away, and it would be easy to hide a whole herd of cattle some place like that. I haven’t been out there in years,” Thomas said.
“And neither has anyone else in Lakestone, I bet,” Aline replied. “That’s what he’d counted on, and I bet if anyone got too close, they’d be quickly run off and sent packing.”
“We can’t waste a moment now, Aline,” Thomas said, picking Sammy up off his lap and putting him down on the rug by the stove. “I’m going to ride out there now. I’ve a horse up on the ridge, it was too risky to ride down here, what with Clarence and Hector around. I’ll ride over to Lakestone Gorge and see if your hunch is right. I’ve got a feeling it is.”
“But what if you get caught? Promise me you’ll be careful, Thomas,” Aline said.
The thought of him riding out alone sent a shiver through her. Now that she knew what Mr. Knox was capable of, the idea of Thomas riding over to the gorge filled her with dread, and what if Mr. Knox came to the ranch? What would she say?
“I’ll be careful, don’t you worry. Your job is to stay here and act like everything’s normal. Keep up the pretense and don’t let Harrison know you suspect him,” Thomas said.
Aline nodded. It was strange to now look at Thomas in this new and revelatory light. In him, she could see something of Mr. Knox. Their faces had a subtle commonality, and even some of their mannerisms were the same. But, in Thomas, there was something else, a genuineness and sincerity. She knew she loved him—that love had never left her, despite the sorrow she’d felt.
“Thomas?” she said, as he turned to leave by the back window.
He looked at her and smiled. “I’m glad you believed me,” he said.
“I do. Because I love you and I know that this time, I’m not making a mistake,” she said, and with a nod of his head, he clambered from the window and out into the night.
Chapter Twenty-Six
The horse was tethered right where Thomas had left it and he quickly mounted, setting off at a gallop across the prairies. The moon was high in the night sky and the sounds of the horse’s hooves echoed all around. But Thomas felt invigorated, a sense of elation at finally having won Aline over to the truth. He loved her, and that love would see them through the difficult times ahead.
Thomas knew the way to Lakestone Gorge well enough. He’d heard the local children talk of swimming in the creek there during the summer and it was known as a good place to pick mushrooms among the trees in the autumn. But it was also a lonely place, one many avoided.
There’d been reports over the years of folks going missing there or robberies occurring on unsuspecting travelers who passed through it on their way north. But Thomas saw no sign of any bandits on the trail, no sign of anyone at all, just the lonely prairie and the wind rustling through it.
“Stay out of the gorge,” was a favorite phrase of many a mother in Lakestone, which made it the perfect place for Harrison to hide his operations.
I’ve got you now, Harrison, Thomas told himself as he sped along the trail.
The gorge lay some miles out of town, just off the trail toward Westfort. It was the ideal place to hide cattle and as Thomas came to the path leading off the trail, he paused, looking down at the sandy ground. Sure enough, in the moonlight, he could see traces of hoofprints in the sand.
The path was scuffed and churned up, as though cattle had been driven along at a great pace not long ago. The tracks led both ways, a further indication that Harrison was driving the stolen animals to Westfort.
Thomas climbed down from his horse, tethering it again to a nearby tree before making his way on foot down the path. The trees arched over menacingly and he kept to the shadows, his hand on his pistol lest anyone should jump him.
After about twenty minutes of walking, the path gave way to where the creek meandered gently through the gorge. Thomas couldn’t help but be amazed at the sight which now met him. There, sitting or grazing, were several hundred cattle, crowded into the gorge.
He ducked behind a nearby tree, realizing he’d be easily seen if he remained near the path. But it seemed the cattle were alone, kept in place by the narrow gorge and unable to stray far.
There’s a fortune in cattle here, Thomas realized, counting some two hundred or so animals before him.
On the nearest ones, he could see the branding of one of the ranches which had recently been raided, and there was no doubting that this was where Harrison had been keeping his rustled cattle all along. Thomas could not help but be impressed by his half-brother’s ambition. It was precisely what their father would once have done, and Thomas could see all the hallmarks of his former life in the planning and carrying out of Harrison’s operations.
I’ve seen enough, he decided, heading back through the trees toward where his horse was tethered.
But just as he was about to emerge onto the trail, he heard voices coming toward him and he shrank back into the shadows, holding his breat
h.
“Mr. Knox wants half of them driven to Westfort by the end of the week. There’s a big auction there on Friday and we can shift a good number without question,” came one voice.
It was Clarence Lester, and Thomas recognized the two others as former members of his father’s posse.
“Is that when we get paid?” one of the others asked, and Clarence nodded.
“A pretty penny, there’s a lot of money in this business. Mr. Knox has got this town wrapped around his finger,” Clarence replied, as they came within just a few feet of Thomas, who shrank back further into the shadows.
When they were safely past, he hurried off along the path, thankful they’d not discovered his horse tethered up near the trail. As if he needed further confirmation of his brother’s involvement, he now had it and, leaping onto the horse’s back, he rode off toward Lampeter Ranch.
***
Aline couldn’t settle. She’d finished her cocoa and wrapped a shawl around herself, sitting with Sammy on her lap as they awaited Thomas’ return. She felt scared lest something should happen to him or she find herself confronted by Mr. Knox. What would she say to him? Could she keep up the charade of being happy at their betrothal?
“Oh, Sammy, what am I to do?” she said, stroking the cat’s back. “I knew I should have trusted your judgment.”
Sammy simply purred, looking up at her with plaintive eyes as though agreeing with her entirely.
The clock on the wall said one o’clock and Aline tried to imagine how long Thomas would take to ride to the gorge and back.
He’s a fast rider, but he’ll have to walk too, I guess. But what if he gets caught, oh… it’s too awful.
Just then, there came the gentle tapping at the bedroom window and, putting Sammy down, Aline rushed to open it. Thomas was on the other side. She pulled up the sash, helping him to climb through.
“You were right,” he said, smiling at her. “Two hundred head of cattle crowded into the gorge. What’s more, I overheard our old friend Clarence Lester telling some of the other that they intended to drive half of them along the trail to Westfort by Friday for the auction there. He mentioned Harrison, too—it’s all coming together.”
Aline nodded; it was all quite overwhelming. She’d thought she’d known Mr. Knox, but it seemed everything he’d told her had been a lie. What would her life have been like if she’d married him? Would he really have harmed her?
For a moment, she felt quite faint and sat down on the bed and buried her face in her hands. Thomas put his hand gently on her shoulder and, as tears ran down her face, she looked up at him and shook her head.
“I trusted him. I was such a fool,” she cried.
“Harrison has always had a way of making folks trust him,” Thomas replied. “You’re no different from a hundred others. But this time, he’s not going to get away with it. I promise you that.”
“What are we going to do about it?” she asked.
“Well, first thing tomorrow morning, I’m going to go and see Mayor Gould. He might be a fat, lazy bureaucrat, but he’ll have to listen when I tell him this. After that, I’ll ride around all the ranches and gather a posse together. There’s plenty of men who have lost a lot at the hands of Harrison and his men. They’ll be only too happy to volunteer to see this sorry business come to an end,” Thomas replied.
“And what about me? I can ride out, too,” she said, but Thomas shook his head.
“No, your job is to stay here and let Harrison believe everything’s just the same as it was yesterday,” Thomas replied.
“I… I’ll try,” she said.
“You can do it, I know you can,” he said, patting her on the arm. “Now, get some sleep if you can. I’ll head back to Lakestone and hope I don’t meet anyone on the road. We’ve been lucky tonight, in more ways than one.”
He smiled at her and took hold of her hand.
“I… I’m sorry,” she said, but he shook his head.
“You don’t have anything to be sorry for, Aline. It’s just circumstance, that’s all. It’s Harrison who should be sorry,” he said.
“How did two brothers turn out so differently?” she asked, shaking her head as she raised his hand to her lips.
“We’re half-brothers, and thank the good Lord for that,” he replied. “Now, I need to go.”
Aline watched Thomas slip back through the window. On the other side, he paused, turning to her and smiling.
“Be careful,” she said, and he nodded.
“I’ll see you tomorrow evening and until then, keep it secret and keep yourself safe,” he said.
Then he was gone, his footsteps disappearing into the night. Aline closed the window, bolting it fast and drawing back the curtain. She checked the door of the ranch, bolting it, too, so that Mr. Knox couldn’t let himself in unexpectedly, and then climbed into bed.
Sammy came to curl up beside her and she blew out the oil lamp before pulling the blankets over her head.
I can do this, she told herself, I can be strong.
And with that thought foremost in her mind, Aline fell asleep—determined to see the right thing done, despite the dangers.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Thomas had ridden back to Lakestone without incident. Lita Morrell had left the door on the latch and he was glad of his bed, when at last he fell into it. It was well after two o’clock in the morning and soon the sun would be rising on a new day. But Thomas hardly slept at all.
His mind was filled with thoughts of Aline and Harrison. How close she’d come to disaster, and how thankful he was that she’d believed him and realized the truth. He tossed and turned, wondering what the day would bring, imagining Harrison’s wrath when he realized his grip on power was gone.
It was six o’clock when Thomas got up. He’d barely slept, but he couldn’t simply lie there any longer with a thousand thoughts running through his mind. He could hear Lita Morrell downstairs preparing breakfast and, pulling on his boots and shirt, he made his way down to the dining room.
“I didn’t hear you come in last night,” she remarked, looking up from laying the tables.
“It was late… I had… business to see to,” he replied, and she nodded.
“I suppose next you’ll tell me you don’t want any breakfast, either,” she replied, but Thomas shook his head.
It was going to be a long day, and one of Lita Morrell’s breakfasts would be just the thing to set him up. Besides, Mayor Gould never arrived at his office before nine o’clock, that could be guaranteed.
“I’ll happily eat breakfast, very happily indeed,” Thomas assured her and Lita Morrell smiled at him.
“For once, you’re doing what you’re told. Sit down, do you want coffee?” she asked.
***
Thomas enjoyed an excellent breakfast and by nine o’clock he was ready to face Mayor Gould. At least today there was good news to share and Thomas bid Lita Morrell a good day, stepping out into the sunshine with a confidence he’d not felt in a long while.
Today was the day when Harrison got his comeuppance, and there’d be no second chances. No longer was Thomas prepared to look the other way or choose not to notice his half-brother’s criminal ways. Threatening Aline had been the last straw and had shown Thomas just what Harrison was capable of.
He didn’t call at the sheriff’s office first. Instead, he made his way straight for the mayor’s, climbing the veranda steps and opening the door without knocking.
The clock on the tower above had just struck nine and the woman sat behind the desk looked up in surprise, as Thomas tipped his hat.
“I’m here to see the mayor,” he said.
“Have you got an appointment, sheriff?” she asked, but Thomas shook his head.
“I don’t remember the mayor ever making an appointment to see me. A demand, perhaps, but never an appointment. This is urgent. I need to see him right away, it’s about the cattle rustling,” Thomas said.
The woman sniffed, rising from her chair and
nodding.
“I’ll see if the mayor’s available. Wait here, please,” she said, in a prim and pretentious voice.
Thomas waited as she disappeared into the office behind. He could hear her whispering something to the mayor, who suddenly called out in a loud voice.
“In here, Redmond, let’s hear what you’ve got to say,” he cried.
Thomas smiled to himself. That got his attention, he thought.
The mayor’s office was in its usual state of disarray and Mayor Gould was leant back in his chair, seeming to have grown even bigger since Thomas’ last encounter with him. His brow was sweaty and he dismissed his assistant with a wave of his hand.